He adds: "It takes up enough of my time to be in love with her. Negotiating in films is very, very hard. Imagine trying to direct someone you really love – it would be a [expletive] nightmare."

Speaking at a New York Times event about his autobiographical sequel, Booky Wook 2: This Time It's Personal, the comedian and actor talked poignantly at times about his love for the Californian pop singer.

"I've found someone who is singularly important to me, so it means compromise, growing up and all the things they tell you in school," he says. "Love between two people is the most spectacular yet ordinary thing in the world."

Of the couple's upcoming wedding, he promised there will be no crazy extravaganza. "We'll get married in front of our friends and family," he says, "and keep it sort of normal."